A new County Armagh brewery has begun selling its range of beers across Northern Ireland.
Spadetown, which was founded by a group of local beer enthusiasts, has secured listings in off licenses and pubs in all six counties and expects to grow its sales sharply in the next few months.
The Lurgan company has signed up 25 outlets so far and is targeting 30 by the end of March.
Stockists include leading craft beer off sales including The Sipster in Jordanstown and the Vineyard on Belfast’s Ormeau Road, as well as a wide range of other leading off sales.
“This is a really exciting start for Spadetown,” Co-founder Patrick McAliskey said. “We have fantastic distributors helping us secure a growing number of listings in Northern Ireland, and we are negotiating deals for distribution in the rest of Ireland.
“By delivering what consumers want – high quality craft beer with pure ingredients and local sourcing – we expect to grow Spadetown significantly this year, benefiting the local area in Lurgan.”
Mr McAliskey previously founded Belfast IT company Novosco before selling the business, which is now owned by Telefonica.
He has since founded Spadetown along with two other Lurgan natives, Vernon Fox, and Martin Dummigan.
Initially brewing beer, the group has plans to create a distillery in Lurgan; the first in the town since 1837. It will go under the name Lough Neagh Distillers when it opens in 2022.
“I have long wanted to open a brewery and distillery in Lurgan, drawing on centuries of tradition, given that Lurgan was home to one of the island’s largest distilleries - Greer’s Distillery - until it burnt down in 1837, and that the wider area was previously a hub for micro brewing,” Vernon Fox said. “My plans to do so were put on hold due to the pandemic but that has become a positive as it led to new conversations with other local people who are passionate about the area’s brewing and distilling heritage, and to new investment and even bigger plans as a result.”
